Distributor for internal combustion engine with improved adjustable rotor contact assembly

ABSTRACT

A distributor for internal combustion engine having a rotor of a non-conducting material mounted on a grounded distributor shaft. A metal point support plate is adjustably supported on the rotor and has a plurality of rotary contact points mounted thereon. Advantageously a stationary contact is mounted on the distributor for successive engagement by the rotary contact points, the stationary point having an arcuate contact surface for rolling engagement by the rotary contact points. Metallic fasteners releasably hold the rotor on the distributor shaft and ground the plate to the shaft. The distributor has a condenser, a stationary point, and a rotor with the rotary contact points which are releasably mounted in the distributor for convenient manual replacement.

3,062,928 11/1962 Machado I United States Patent 1151 3,6 Machado 1 51 May 2, 1972 DISTRIBUTOR FOR INTERNAL 3,206,565 9/1965 Lingenfelter COMBUSTION ENGINE WITH 3,372,249 3/1968 Withem ...2oo/19 A IMPRQVED ADJUSTABLE ROTOR 3, 8 ,065 12/1969 Ciaccia ---200/28 X CONTACT ASSEMBLY Primary Examiner-J. R. Scott [72] Inventor: Anthony A. Mlchldo, 559 Bee Street, Me- Attorney-Douglas W. Wyatt riden, Conn. 06450 22 Filed: Apr. 16, 1971 [5.71 ABSTRACT [211 App] NOJ 134,713 A distributor for internal combustion engine having a rotor of a non-conducting materlal mounted on a grounded distributor shaft. A metal point support plate is adjustahly supported on 1 1 200/19 DR, 200/25, the rotor and' has a plurality of rotary contact points mounted I 200/29 v thereon. Advantageously a stationary contact is mounted on [51] Holh 19/, the distributor for successive engagement by the rotary con- [58] new sure "200/19 19 19 tact points, the stationary point having an arcuate contact sur- 200/281 29 face for rolling engagement by the rotary contact points. Metallic fasteners releasably hold the rotor on the distributor [56] Rem-mm Cmd shaft and ground the plate to the shaft. The distributor has a UNITED STATES TS condenser, a stationary point, and a rotor with the rotary con- 1 tact points which are releasably mounted in the distributor for 1 Fries A convenient manua] re lacement 2,766,338 10/1956 Jamieson et al... ....200/28 X ..200/25 X 9 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEDHAY 2 1972 SHEET 10F 2 pa {445' W. /4r

ATTORNEY PATENTEUMAY 2 I972 SHEET 2 BF 2 F/az YINVENTOR 4/v/Wa/v/ 4. M4044 00 paugzzzf W- W74 ff ATTORNEY gagement'svit'hthe rotary'contact points;

- claims, andzthe. drawings appendedheretowherein:

. v ,1? t I msnmuroirrommrsnsllhcomaosrionascms, wirrrrmnovsmnwsmxm: RQIORCONTACT ssssmsv my previousinventionadisclbsedi in U.Si Pat. No. 3,062,923 enti'tledWDi'stributonfbr Internal Combustion Engine" which. wasi'ssuedionrNov.63.1 962; s 3

.ltis an object of.- thepresent invention to provide an im proved distributor for; internal combustion, engines with, points that remain cooler and wear longerthan conventionaldis,-

tributor points. i v 1 I i I it is another objectot thisinvention to. provide'such a distributor with points and a condenser that can be readily replaced manually-without toolsgy It, has now be n. found that theforegoingobjects. and other advantages can beobtained, in. a distributor for internalc'ombustion engines thatv includes a rotor of non-conducting material mounted on 'a grounded distributor shaft. A metal point support plate is adjustably mounted on the rotor and has a plurality of rotary contact points mounted thel'QOn- Advantageously astationary contact pointis mounted on the distributor for" successive engagement by the rotary contact points, the stationary pointhaving' anarcuate contact surface for rolling engagement by the rotary'contact points. Metallic fasteners releasably hold the rotor on'the distributor shaftand ground the plate to the shaft. The distributor has a condenser, a stationary. point, and a 'rotor-with-th'e rotary contact points which are releasably mounted in the distributor for convenient manual replacement v 4 The point support plate has a plurality of arms which carry the rotary contact pointswhich are formed by wheel-shaped contacts rotatably mounted thereon. The stationary point is mountedon a spring which biases the stationary point intoer The rotor has'ian annular member of noncondu'cting material on "which "the support plate isadjustably mounted. The metallicfastenersare'in the form -of a pai of'resilient clips fixed on the rotor on-one end and biased against "the distrib'w; tor shaft'on theot'herlend to releasably retain'ithe rotor on the distributor shaft. The-clips also provide an electrical (circuit between lthe point support plate and the grounded distributor w shaft.

The distributor'is adapted. sogthat the .pointsfland the condenser may be readily-replaced manually without the use of tools. The rnetallicjfasteners releasably hold .the'rotor on the distributorshaft solthat it can be .rnanuallyslippedoffthe top of .the shaft. A spring ,member is .mounted in .the distributor andithe stationarytcontacupoint:hasaslotforrslideably,receiving the spring .rnembenfonreleasability andsupporting thestawardly through a suitable aperture in an internal support plate 14;. mounted in the housing to, For clarity of illustration, the

conventional distributor cap connected to the six spark plugs of an internal combustion engine ilsnot shown. r 1 t i The upper portion of the distributor shaft 12 has ahead portion configured to-receive a rotor- 22' advantageously adaptedto'bereleasably disposed thereon. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the rotor has an internalcylindrical-chamber23 which receives the shaft head 20- A key way in the head 20 receives a key'23a. formed; in the chamber 23 whereby the rotor 22] rotates with the shaft 12. i i t The rotor 20. is made of conventional non-conducting material and has a conventional 'rigid'arm portion 24 which supports the usual flexible metal contact lever ZQfhaving'a rounded contact point Zti positioned to extend into'the con ventional distributor cap (not shown) for completing an e'lec' trical circuit in the usual manner'between the'igniti'on coil and' the spark plugs of'an internal combustion engine. v

T he rotor 22 has 7 an annular member. of insulating material rigidly secured'thereon to form a support for a metal point plate 32. The annular member 30 may be integrally formed as apart of the rotor 22 or it may beof sepa'ratdc'onstruction in the form of "a donut shaped ring which fits snugly on the rotor ,22 as illustratedin FIG. 3 The annular member 30 illustrated in FIG."3 is of separate construction and has be'enslipped on a conventional rotor in order to adapt the rotor for'use inthe manner disclosed herein. The point plate 32, as best seen in FIG. 5, is designed inthe form of a six-point star like member having equally spaced "radially extending arms and an annular aperture in which the bo dy of the rotor 22 is disposed.

A pair of oppositely disposed arcuate slots'35 are formed I the plate in order to adjustably mount the plate 32on the v annular rnember 30. Conventional pairs of fasteners, iii the form of' nuts 36 and screws which pass through the slots 35 advance or retard the distributor timing.

55 tionary contact ,.point. Zlihetdistributor alsoxhasacondenser twhich is supportedby asp ringvclip twhich allows thecondenser :to be manually replaced. lnaddition, the .electricaLconduit' between thetco'nde'nserand the-ignition coilis provided with a socket which v may be manuallyislipped vonand off a-Jugfcon- ,nection .on .the condenser rforlreadyreplacement of .this .part

without tools. I t v I Nariousother objectsand advantagesof this invention. will be apparent from the sfolloyving detailed .de scripg i TEIG. l is an exploded viewof the distributorfor. an internal iFlG. 2isza-top viewiofl the..distributor of this invention-with the.replaceablepartsin operating position;

351653 -is aicross-sectionalview otlthe distributor of FIG. v2; r FlG i-4 istaside:viewofithe distributor.ofFlGiyZ;

FFIGJ 'S is .a crosssectional wietwytaken along lines 5-5 of and through suitable apertures in theannular m ember3l); hold the point sup'po'rt32 in a" desired fixed position.-T he fastenersmay be released so tha t the position of the point plate 32 relative'to the rotor-22 maytbe adjusted'in' order to' I ,In order toreleasably. retain'the rotor. 22 on from the shaft 12, as illustratedin FIG. -,1, by manually pulling the rotor 22 upwardly against the bias of the clips 38.

' Advantageously pairs of rotatable contact points ,40 are I mounted on each ofthe arms 34 ofthe point support plate 32.

' Eachof the-rotary points40 consist of arpairof wheel-like contacts 42 mounted on'each side of an arm34 and secured four-.wheel-lil e contacts 42 forming rotary contact points of the embodiment illustrated in the drawings; However, only one wheellike contact is required, the four wheels being used in the embodiment disclosed to increase the contact area. A

pair of copper washers 4,5 are disposed betweenyeach of the pairs of wheel-like contacts 42 and the point support plate 32. The copper rivets 44 and the copper washers 45 act vto .point plate 32.

I I the shafthead; 20; and .to ground the metal pointplate'32 to: the distributor A single contact 50. is mounted in the housing in a position so as to be successively engaged by the rotary contact points 40. A vertical spring stem 52 supports the contact point 50 in position where the spring stem 52 biases the contact point 50 into engagement with rotary points 40 as these members are successively moved into contact therewith by the rotary distributor shaft 12. The contact point 50, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, is generally rectangular and has an arcuate contact surface 51 adopted to allow the rotary contact points 40 to come into engagement therewith and roll over the surface thereof to establish an electrical connection between these parts. This construction and operation has the desirable result of allowing the contact points to remain cooler and wear longer.

A suitable slot 53 is provided in the contact point 50 to receive the spring stem 52 in order to mount the contact point thereon. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the contact point 50 may be readily removed from the spring stem 52 by manually sliding the point 50 upwardly and off the stem for maintenance or replacement.

The spring stem 52 is mounted on the housing 10 by means of an insulating terminal 54 which is supported by and extends through the housing 10 as illustrated in FIG. 3. The terminal 54 has a conducting screw 56 supported internally therein and which extends into the interior of the'housing 10. In order to support the spring stem 52, the screw 56 is disposed in an aperture in the spring stem 52 so that this part is held firmly between the terminal 54 and a spring stop 58 mounted on the outer end of the screw 56. The outer end of the screw is connected in a conventional manner to the high tension ignition coil of the internal combustion engine by means of the insulated conductor 60.

A grounded condenser 62, electrically connected to the ignition circuit of the internal combustion engine, is releasably mounted on the support plate 14 by means of a spring clip 64. Resilient flanges 66 and 68 of the clip 64 are configured to be biased into engagement with the cylindrical condenser 62 to holdit in place on the support plate 14. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the condenser 62 is mounted so that it may be manually removed from the spring clip 64 for replacement. In this connection the condenser 62 has a lug 70 extending therefrom for engagement with a mating conduit socket 72 which slides on the lug 70 to form a snug fit. When it is desired to replace the condenser 62, the socket 72 may be manually slipped off the lug 70. The lug 70 is attached on one end of a conduit 74 which has its opposite end electrically connected to the screw 56 of the terminal 54 to provide a conventional ignition circuit including the usual condenser 62.

Accordingly, as described in detail above, the condenser 62, the contact point 50 and the rotor 22 with the point plate 32 and the rotary points 40 may be readily removed manually from the distributor housing 10 without the use of tools and in addition it will be obvious to one skilled in the art, a convention distributor may be readily adapted in the manner of this invention. Thus, these parts may be replaced in an inexpensive manner that does not require the services of an experienced mechanic. In addition, by removing the fasteners in the form of nuts 36 and screws 37, a new point plate 32 with fresh rotary points 40 may be placed on the rotor 22 so that this part may be reused. For this purpose a mark 76 is provided on the annular member 30 for alignment with the mark 78 on the point plate 32 to insure proper relative positioning of these mounted on said rotor, a plurality of rotary contact points mounted on said plate, a stationary point mounted on said dlS- tributor for successive engagement by said rotary contact points, said stationary point having an arcuate contact surface for rolling engagement by said rotary contact points, and metallic fastening means releasably holding said rotor on said distributor shaft and grounding said plate to said shaft.

2. The distributor of claim 1 wherein said point support plate has a plurality of arms and wherein said rotary contact I points are formed by wheel-shaped contacts rotatably mounted on said arms.

3. The distributor of claim 2 wherein said stationary point is mounted on a spring biasing said stationary point into an engagement with said rotary contact points.

4. The distributor of claim 3 wherein said rotor has an annular member of non-conducting material, said point support plate being adjustably mounted on said annular member.

5. The distributor of claim 4 wherein said metallic fastening means includes a pair of resilient clips fixed on said rotor on one end and biased against said distributor shaft on the other end to releasably retain the said rotor on said distributor shaft, said clips providing an electrical circuit between said plate and said grounded distributor shaft.

6. A distributor for an internal combustion engine wherein the points and condenser can be readily replaced manually without the use of tools including a rotor of non-conducting material releasably mounted on a grounded distributor shaft, a

metal point support plate adjustably mounted on said rotor, metallic fastening means releasably holding said rotor on said distributor shaft and grounding said plate to said shaft, a plurality of rotary contact points mounted on said plate, a stationary contact point mounted on said distributor for successive engagement by said rotor contact points, said stationary point having an arcuate contact surface for rolling engagement by said rotary contact points, a spring member mounted in said distributor, said stationary point having slot means for slideably receiving said spring member for releasably supporting said stationary point.

7. The distributor of claim 6 wherein said point support plate has a plurality of arms and wherein said rotary contact points are formed by wheel-shaped contacts rotatably mounted on said arms.

8. The distributor of claim 7 wherein said metallic fastening means includes a pair of resilient clips fixed on said rotor on one end and biased against said distributor shaft on the other end in order to releasably hold the said rotor on said distributor shaft, said clips providing an electrical circuit between said plate and said grounded distributor shaft.

9. The distributor of claim 8 wherein a condenser is releasably mounted in said distributor by a spring clip and wherein said condenser is connected to the ignition coil by a manually releasable lug and socket joint. 

1. A distributor for an internal combustion engine including a rotor of non-conducting material mounted on a grounded distributor shaft, a metal point support plate adjustably mounted on said rotor, a plurality of rotary contact points mounted on said plate, a stationary point mounted on said distributor for successive engagement by said rotary contact points, said stationary point having an arcuate contact surface for rolling engagement by said rotary contact points, and metallic fastening means releasably holding said rotor on said distributor shaft and grounding said plate to said shaft.
 2. The distributor of claim 1 wherein said point support plate has a plurality of arms and wherein said rotary contact points are formed by wheel-shaped contacts rotatably mounted on said arms.
 3. The distributor of claim 2 wherein said stationary point is mounted on a spring biasing said stationary point into an engagement with said rotary contact points.
 4. The distributor of claim 3 wherein said rotor has an annular member of non-conducting material, said point support plate being adjustably mounted on said annular member.
 5. The distributor of claim 4 wherein said metallic fastening means includes a pair of resilient clips fixed on said rotor on one end and biased against said distributor shaft on the other end to releasably retain the said rotor on said distributor shaft, said clips providing an electrical circuit between said plate and said grounded distributor shaft.
 6. A distributor for an internal combustion engine wherein the points and condenser can be readily replaced manually without the use of tools including a rotor of non-conducting material releasably mounted on a grounded distributor shaft, a metal point support plate adjustably mounted on said rotor, metallic fastening means releasably holding said rotor on said distributor shaft and grounding said plate to said shaft, a plurality of rotary contact points mounted on said plate, a stationary contact point mounted on said distributor for successive engagement by said rotor contact points, said stationary point having an arcuate contact surface for rolling engagement by said rotary contact points, a spring member mounted in said distributor, said stationary point having slot means for slideably receiving said spring member for releasably supporting said stationary point.
 7. The distributor of claim 6 wherein said point support plate has a plurality of arms aNd wherein said rotary contact points are formed by wheel-shaped contacts rotatably mounted on said arms.
 8. The distributor of claim 7 wherein said metallic fastening means includes a pair of resilient clips fixed on said rotor on one end and biased against said distributor shaft on the other end in order to releasably hold the said rotor on said distributor shaft, said clips providing an electrical circuit between said plate and said grounded distributor shaft.
 9. The distributor of claim 8 wherein a condenser is releasably mounted in said distributor by a spring clip and wherein said condenser is connected to the ignition coil by a manually releasable lug and socket joint. 